The Countdown Ends

            I have been fortunate enough in my lifetime to have been on two service trips already, both to New Orleans.  Each of those adventures brought me some of the happiest memories of my life.  Since those wonderful times in my life, I have been addicted to service.  I'm mad for it.
           You can always tell before a trip whether or not the group is going to work well together, and in this case, I already feel so loved and close to everyone.  For that reason, this is going to be an amazing trip.  There is no doubt in my mind.  We will all face the same challenges and each experience the same new exciting adventures, but each of us will take something different away from Biloxi.  I look forward to see how we all grow.
         We've been counting down and prepping all year, and now it's time to actually do it! Here we go! :D
With so much ASB love,

Colleen <3

The Wait Is Over!

          It is currently 8:44pm and I have finally finished packing! Thanks to all of you who suggested the tip of "rolling" up clothes because it definitely helped! It still hasn't hit me that within a matter of hours we will all be at Logan Airport headed to Biloxi, MS. I am so excited to have the opportunity to get to know all of you better and I am looking forward to creating stonger friendships and making long-lasting memories on our trip away from home.

"How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world." --Anne Frank

We no longer have to wait! Biloxi, Mississippi here we come!!!

Lauren

It's Here!

I can't believe it's the 11th hour before Alternative Spring Break. I'm feeling a strange mixture between excitement and sadness, because I don't want this experience to end! Planning this trip with Molly, Carolyn, and Angel since June has filled me with so much joy and sense of purpose. ASB has changed my life completely- it's made me rethink what is truly important in my life, and has made me reconsider my direction. ASB is a truly special event with the ability to change so many lives. It's done that for me, and, this year, I want to help give that experience to the 24 beautiful people on this trip. That's what Kendra and Molly told me last year, on the final day of the trip when I was thinking about applying to be a trip leader, if I became a trip leader myself. Now that the trip is upon us, I understand exactly what they mean. I want to see Mississippi, and I want to see a change that makes life more worthwhile for the people who live with the effects of the BP Oil Spill, but I'm especially excited to see the change in perspective and motivation of these 24 wonderful people when they realize that they, yes they, are capable of incredible change.
Love,
Tori

By this time tomorrow I will be in Biloxi Mississippi. There has been so much anticipation leading up to this trip and I am so excited to have the opportunity to in just a few hours to be there, be doing, and be involved in restoration. This trip comes at a great time, in the mid semester of my freshmen year the "sophmore slump" is comming a little earlier than expected. In day-to-day life it is easy to get caught up in the mundane and lose sight of what is really imporant to you. For me service is a time to relfect on myself and focus my energy into something that really matters and that has an immediate effect. My hope is that this trip will reawaken my ambitions, driving me to the improvement of myself and reminding me what it means to be an active citizen and a committed part of my national community. I have been so blessed to have this chance to work with these amazing ASBers. Everyone in the group is so welcoming and friendly, they really make me feel as though I am a part of my FSU community and that is something that I am extermly thankful for. Thus far, my involvement with ASB has been the best part of my freshemen year, and as the minutes tick down it only gets better and better.

-Amy Jones, class of 2016

Three days…and by the time I push submit on this blog post it will probably be two days.

As I sit here and blog away there are about a million other things that I could be doing but there is something about this week that makes me want to just slow down. I want to slow down and enjoy the quickly approaching trip. I want to slow down and think about just how life changing Alternative Spring Break has been for me. I want to slow down and enjoy every second that leads up to this trip because for me it will be my final trip with FSU and hopefully the beginning of a lifelong career with service.

I saw Carolyn and Tori today and there was this vibe between us that I just cannot explain. We were giddy, nervous, emotional, and not at all eager to leave each other’s sides. All of our work since this summer has led up to this week. In addition to life changing experiences, Alternative Spring Break has given me some of my very best friends. I cannot wait to see these girls shine next week.

Speaking of shining…there are 27 individuals who have taken up all of my heart this week. What are they feeling? What are they expecting? I want this experience to be everything they want and more. I want them to feel empowered, like they can change the world (except little do they know they already have changed the world). There is something so special about this ASB 2013 group (and I am not just saying that). There is a connection between participants that is strong and genuine, something that I could have only dreamed of having (and we haven’t even been on the trip yet!). I want to soak up every moment we all spend together as we have the opportunity to give back because a group like this can never be repeated. It will be an experience we can always share, a bond that can always link us.  

I wish there was a way for me to describe what the Alternative Spring Break program has meant to me throughout my college experience. I have tried over and over again to describe it but it is simply indescribable. It is something I feel, something that drives me everyday. It makes me smile as a walk to class, it makes me appreciate what I have when my day isn’t going as planned, it makes me think that as one person maybe I can truly do something worthwhile with this life I get to live. It is an experience that I will take with me wherever I go.

Now if only my paper for class was as easy to write as this blog entry J

ASB on the brain…

J Molly Goguen

Operations and Education Trip Leader  

4 days?!?

4 days!!!!! I have been looking forward to this coming Saturday since I found out I was an ASB member last semester! We have been talking about the trip and preparing for it so long and now it's finally here. It has been REALLY hard to pay attention this week because my mind is already in Mississippi! I cannot wait to get home Friday so I can finally pack and seeing as I haven't started I have a lot of work ahead of me. Friday night is going to be like Christmas eve and I don't think I'll be able to sleep. Although I am not looking forward to being up so early, there is nothing a cup of coffee can't fix.
        There is so much I am looking forward to next week. First of all, I cannot wait to spend an entire week with the amazing group of ASBers we have. They are all so amazing and I am so glad I have gotten to know them over the past few months. Second of all, I'm not going to lie, I can't wait for the food!!! I am an adventurous eater and will try almost anything (except mushrooms yuck!) I cannot wait for some good ole southern food after a long day cleaning up that nasty oil spill. With leads me into the thing I'm looking forward to the most, helping Biloxi. After watching the documentary this past weekend I finally saw what we are going to be dealing with down there. People have been suffering and we have been unaware because the government and media just covers it up. Not only are the people suffering, but the wild life too. I cannot believe the government can let something like this go on. Just because BP gives them a little cash (well a lot) they just let them spray poison all over the south.
       So let's just say I will be counting down the hours until we get on that plain Saturday! I just need to get through two midterms this week and I will be ready to go! Mississippi better get reading because FSU ASBers are on their way!!!!

-Jenna Papotto

TIME FOR AN ADVENTURE!

I was so excited when I found out I was selected to go on the ASB trip this year. I have never really done a service trip before and I thought my lack of experience may hinder my odds of getting selected for the trip. Looking back I feel a bit ignorant for not knowing what ASB was until my senior year. Now that I have learned more about ASB I wish I had known earlier in my college career so I could have applied to go on previous trips. However I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason so I am sure there must be a good reason why I had never joined ASB before and I am hoping that it will make my first and only experience even more meaningful.

I think the group that was selected to go on ASB this year is full of amazing people. Everyone has been so nice and welcoming, and I love how everyone is so unique. Many of the people going on the trip are people who I did not know, and who I do not think I ever would have met had I not joined ASB. However I am extremely grateful for the diversity in the group because it is already allowing me to make friends who I may not have had the opportunity to meet and I know that everyone going on this trip has a great heart and pure intentions to bring happiness to others.

I want to take a moment to thank the trip leaders who allowed this amazing group of people to come together. The interview and application process takes countless amounts of hours and dedication and the work that was put into that has not gone unnoticed.  I know how particular the selection process was, which makes me feel even more honored that I have been given this opportunity. I know that everyone who was selected to go on the trip was selected for good reasons and I am excited to grow even closer to my fellow ASB members and find out what those reasons are.

Reading blogs that people had written about the past ASB trip was emotional, but it also made me excited for what lies ahead. I love helping others and I cannot wait to devote an entire week to doing that. I am excited to embark on a journey where we will be helping the lives of others and in doing so changing our own for the better as well. I am so excited for this adventure to begin!

Jenel Liston
Class of 2013

Biloxi, Mississippi in T-6 days!

Sooo we will be in Biloxi, Mississippi in LESS THAN A WEEK! I literally cannot wait! This anticipation is killing me, and it seems like it's killing everyone else too! I have been so excited to go ever since I first visited Framingham State!

I remember my first visit here, I heard about Alternative Spring Break and I immediately wanted to find out more and find out how I could be a part of it. Luckily, Molly Goguen was there to answer all my questions, making me want to be a part of this group even more!

On a more serious note, I never realized how much of an impact this oil spill had on the Southern shore. It's deeply saddening to hear about all the devastation this disaster had on Biloxi, and all the surrounding areas. If I, as an ASBer had no idea how bad this was, I can only imagine how few people know what they are still going through, even though it has been just about three years since the initial disaster. They need all the help they can get and I couldn't be more enthusiastic to be doing just that!

I couldn't have been happier to be a part of such an amazing group of people. Even though it has been such a short amount of time getting to know you all, I feel we are all already really close! I mean, look at how close we are, and we haven't even left yet! :) I can only imagine how close we will all be after the trip.

Despite my love for helping others, I was so nervous to be a part of this group at first because I am not the best at meeting new people, so I felt I might not belong. However, you guys have shown me otherwise that I have had nothing to fear this entire! You are all so friendly, loving, and crazy (in a good way) and I cannot thank you enough for being so welcoming to me. Even though we all have a common interest about helping others, we have become a loving group besides that initial interest. I can't wait to go make a change, even if it's a small one, and help the lives of others with everyone!! Biloxi, here we come! <3

-Kelly Barker
Class of 2016

Before Biloxi!

As the Spring semester is passing quickly, Spring Break is right around the corner. Our trip to Biloxi, Mississippi will be here before we know it . I can't believe how much time has already gone by from fundraising to meeting every Friday discussing the upcoming trip. At first I was hesitant apply for Framingham State University's 2013 alternative spring break trip but I have come to realize that it is going to be a life changing experience! I am so excited to spend a week down at, The CC International Biloxi Volunteer Facility cleaning up the shore line and restoring Mississippi's original Eco systems. I know that their is always a constant need for volunteers in areas that have been hit by natural disasters, which is why this trip means so much to be apart of along with a number of amazing individuals who I can confidently say will be making huge differences and contributions to the world in a number of ways! I can't wait to get my hand dirty and make memories!

Shannon Howe

So Close!

So the days are winding down until we leave for Biloxi! What is it, like 14 days!? I know that I am getting really, really, really excited to go. The group we have is totally amazing and we have all grown so close. I love hanging out with everyone outside our meetings and really getting to know these amazing people that I am going to be spending this trip with. We're all so close now, think about what will happen when we get back! I'm really disappointed that I can't make it to the group bonding session at Angel's but I was only half joking when I said that I was going to bring a cardboard cutout of me so you can feel as if I'm there. :P

I literally cannot wait to leave and get down and dirty. Though I'm sure the work will be hard, it will also be fun and rewarding. Also.... we get to go hangout with some alligators down there... I'll make sure to DVR our episode of Gator Boys that we'll all get famous from. I cannot wait to leave! :D

Ali McGrath